Forbidden Longing
by sunshineandfandoms
Summary: When Clary Fray walks into her second period English class, she doesn't expect to fall for her teacher, Mr Herondale. What happens when they start getting closer? Can she hide her feelings? Does he feel the same way? / Clace / All Human
1. Chapter 1

"Clary, you're still coming to mine tonight right?" my best friend, Isabelle, asked me as we were walking into our English class.

"Yeah, but I gotta go home first cause my mom…" I trailed off as I noticed the man standing at the board. He had fairly long golden hair that fell into his eyes and tan skin that seemed to glow.

He looked over at the door, where I was standing, and I noticed that he also had amazingly golden eyes. He smiled at me and I felt my breath hitch in my throat - he was seriously beautiful.

"Cause what?" Isabelle asked, trying to catch my attention. "Uh she needs me to help her with something", I managed.

"Oh okay, that's fine." I followed Izzy to two empty seats in the middle of the class and we sat down next to each other.

"Where's Simon?" I turned to answer Isabelle but was interrupted by our apparent new teacher.

"Hello class, my name is Mr Herondale and I'm going to be your new English teacher." It was the beginning of the second semester and it was odd to get a new teacher after the school year had already begun. Izzy seemed to be thinking along the same lines and whispered to me, "I wonder what happened to Mr Starkweather?" I shrugged my shoulders in response before Mr Herondale continued, "Now, would anyone like to tell me what you've learnt so far this year?"

Hands raised around the room, mostly from girls, but before Mr Herondale could pick someone to answer, Simon burst into the room. "Nice of you to turn up, Mr…?" the teacher said to him. "Sorry um Lewis, Simon Lewis. Sorry sir, new timetable, first day, you know?"

"Yes, yes. Take a seat please, Lewis, Simon Lewis," Mr Herondale directed. Simon walked over to us and took a seat in front of Izzy and I, looking flustered.

Mr Herondale continued, "Anyone?" He pointed at a girl named Kaelie, who was almost falling out of her chair in an attempt to get him to choose her. She explained to Mr Herondale that we'd just started studying Shakespeare before the end of the semester.

"Okay cool, thanks," he said, kindly. "That's okay!" Kaelie said with a little too much excitement. "How about we start with Hamlet?" Mr Herondale asked the class.

I grinned, and Simon shook his head at me with an amused look on his face, "Of course _you'd_ be excited to study Shakespeare." I shoved his shoulder gently before reverting my attention back to the front and to the teacher.

I was a huge theatre fan and had seen a lot of Shakespeare's plays on Broadway so I was confident that I knew them well.

Mr Herondale gave some of us parts and then we read some of it as a class before answering questions on the first act.

The rest of the class passed without incident, though I kept sneaking looks at Mr Herondale. I looked up from the textbook I was reading and glanced around the class; I wasn't the only one distracted today – many of the other girls were ogling our teacher.

Soon later, the bell went and the class filed out. I walked with Simon and Izzy out of the class before Isabelle gushed, "Oh my god, did you see how hot Mr Herondale was?" I chuckled, "Of course Izzy, it was kind of hard not to." Izzy giggled, Simon rolled his eyes and I waved goodbye to the two of them as we went our separate ways.

 **One Month Later**

Mr Herondale had been my English teacher for a month now and I could already feel a crush on him developing. He was gorgeous, funny, kind, and he always tried to help us in any way he could. It was a welcome change from our previous teacher, Mr Starkweather, who didn't appear to care and seemed to believe that if you didn't understand something, you must be stupid.

As the bell rang, everyone got up to leave. "You coming Clary?" Isabelle asked, walking towards the door. "Yeah Iz, two seconds."

I walked over to Mr Herondale's desk and handed him the essay I'd been working on for a couple of weeks. Although we were studying Shakespeare, we had to build up a portfolio of essays over the year that contributed to our grade. Mr Herondale had given us the past couple days to write a personal essay on someone we admired. I'd written mine on my older brother, Jonathan, and I was quite proud of it.

"Thank you, Clarissa," he replied, picking it up. "Call me Clary - everyone else does," I said with a smile. He gave me one of his signature smiles, causing my heart to flutter.

The next lesson, he asked me to stay behind for a minute. I was really nervous, he probably thought my essay was awful and wanted me to start again, or have him tutor me. Actually, that wouldn't be the worst thing.

I watched as he pulled a chair out in front of his desk for me to sit in, and I sat down nervously. "Your essay was brilliant," he told me smiling. Relief flooded through me and I smiled back.

" _So_ good in fact that I'd like to enter it into an essay contest." I had thought my essay was good but not _that_ good. "Yeah sure, that would be great!" I replied, probably a bit too enthusiastically.

"With a little bit of tweaking, I honestly think you've got a very good chance of winning." Mr Herondale told me, before adding, "It looks really good on university applications and the prize is a scholarship to NYU." It just keeps getting better - NYU is my dream school!

I smiled at him and he suggested, "If you want you could come here after school sometime and we could work on it." "Yeah, sure. Thank you so much, Mr Herondale."


	2. Chapter 2

It was Tuesday afternoon and I only had one period left before my tutoring session with Mr Herondale. Maths couldn't go fast enough.

I looked back down at my notes and got started on some Algebra. After 40 minutes, the bell went and I rushed out of my seat – I didn't want to keep Mr Herondale waiting but his class was at the other side of the school.

Izzy walked with me until we reached his class and then left with a smirk as I walked into the classroom, "Don't have too much fun now, Clary." I scowled at her, said hello to Mr Herondale and walked over to his desk.

He smirked. Oh my god, did he hear what Isabelle said? "Hey Clary, you ready to get started?" he asked me. I guess not. I nodded and sat down, pulling my essay out of my bag.

He shuffled his chair closer to me and started telling me where I could slightly improve. The majority of stuff he advised me to do was just changing the wording or adding extra descriptions.

"And here, I don't think you talk about your feelings enough and I think that would really help improve the emotion and reading experience," Mr Herondale told me, pointing at the end of the second page. I nodded and he continues, "So, if you don't mind, maybe you could tell me a little about how you felt at this time?"

I breathed in and then started talking, "I…I felt broken, I felt…devastated and alone. I was unsure how to cope." It was hard for me talk about such personal things and especially about such a tough time in my life.

He listened intently and then said quietly, "And now?" I didn't see how my current feelings have anything to do with this essay but I felt I could trust him, though I hardly knew him. "I'm okay I guess. It doesn't happen that often anymore."

He looked at me sympathetically and told me that he was always there if I needed someone to talk to, and I really appreciated it.

We sat in silence for a moment before he spoke, "If you don't have any questions, I think that's all for today. Work on it a bit and we'll see how you're doing in class next time, all right?" I told him that was fine and I'd see him in class tomorrow before I walked out of school towards the car park.

I couldn't see my mom's car so I sat down on a bench and waited. And then it started to rain. _Great_.

My tutoring session had gone fairly well. Mr Herondale was as nice as ever and I knew he was being honest when he said he'd be there for me.

I started thinking about changes that could be made to my essay as I planned to work on it when I got home. If I ever did get home.

I'd been waiting for half an hour and I'd already texted and called my mom multiple times to remind her that she was supposed to be picking me up, but I had gotten no response.

 _God, I wish I could drive_. I was in the process of saving up so I could afford lessons as my mom didn't see them as necessary: "You have legs, just walk Clary, don't be so lazy," she had told me. I didn't mind walking, I didn't, but walking home in the rain? Now that was a different story.

I stood up, deciding to just walk the 25 minutes home, and pulled my earphones out of my bag so I could listen to music while I walked. I plugged them into my phone and I was scrolling through it for a song when I heard a voice behind me, "Clary? You're still here?" It was Mr Herondale, obviously wondering why I'm still on the premises even though I'd walked out of his classroom 35 minutes ago.

"Yeah, uh my mum was supposed to be picking me up but she never showed and isn't answering my texts. I'm just going to walk." I told him with a small smile. "Don't be ridiculous Clary, I'll drive you."

I hesitated, not sure it was appropriate, and insisted that it was okay, I didn't mind walking. He reached his hand out in front of me and I took it, feeling a shiver run down my spine at his touch. "I insist," he told me, pulling me to his car.

He seemed to have parked as far away from the building as possible so we were walking for a good few minutes. He held my hand the entire way, which I thought was a little odd, but I wasn't complaining.

He walked round to the passenger side and opened the door for me, holding it while I climbed in, before closing it and walking round to the driver's side. He turned the key, started the engine, and turned on the heated seats to warm us from the cold of the rain.

We sat in silence for a couple minutes. I wanted to talk, I just had no idea what to say.

"So, Clary," he said eventually, "what are your plans for the weekend?" He seemed genuinely interested.

"Um I think I'm going to see a movie with Simon on Friday, though we've not decided what yet. On Saturday, a piece of my art will be featured in this exhibition downtown so I'm going there, and on Sunday, I don't know, probably just catching up on some school work and watching Netflix…You?"

Without taking his eyes off the road, he said, completely ignoring my question, "Personally, I think you guys should go see 'Wonder Woman' at seven on Friday."

"That's very specific…" I said, stifling a laugh. "It's cause that's where I'll be," he winked at me. _Oh. My. God._

My heart was going crazy but I tried to respond in an indifferent tone, "Oh, sure that film looks good, I'll talk to Simon about it." I could have sworn I saw his shoulders tense, but it was gone in an instant. I must have imagined it.

"Cool. Oh, and hey, congratulations for that exhibition! That's amazing!" he said excitedly. I blushed, though he didn't notice because he had his eyes on the road ahead. "Thank you, I'm really excited about it."

After that, the conversation kept flowing. We talked about our favourite movies, bands, books and food, our families and what we're currently binge watching on Netflix.

Eventually, I directed Mr Herondale to my street and thanked him for taking me home. "I'll see you later, Clary," he told me, while I was leaning through the door. His eyes ran over my body and I suddenly remembered that I was wearing a white t-shirt that, due to the rain, was now soaking wet. And see-through. I blushed, horrified, and muttered, "Yeah, see you tomorrow, have a nice evening."

I closed the door and ran up my drive, towards the house, trying to get out of the rain as fast as possible. However, my efforts weren't successful and any parts of me that had dried in the car, were once again wet. When I got in, I went straight upstairs to get changed into some comfier clothes.

I took off my green army jacket and looked in the mirror. My wet-shirt was clinging to my non-existent curves, my white lacy bra peeking through. Did Mr Herondale like what he saw?

Of course not. I'm his student, he'll never see me that way.

I removed my t-shirt and jeans and gave myself one last look in the mirror before I dug through my drawers and found some black leggings and a grey oversized sweater to wear.

I put them on, picked by bag up off the floor and walked over to my desk to begin working on my essay when I heard a knock on my door, followed by my brother's voice, "Clare?" he asked, his voice muffled by the wood. "Yeah Jon, you can come in."

"Hey, how come you're home so late?" he asked me. I explained the whole situation with the essay contest and Mom not picking me up. "Clary, Mom never came home last night."

* * *

 **Sorry for the cliffhanger! Though it doesn't really count as I'm just going to post all four chapters I've written.**

 **I know it isn't a lot but I can't believe the first chapter got over 40 reads in a couple of hours! I never expected anyone to read my work so thank you very much!**

 **Review, follow and favourite please!**


	3. Chapter 3

"What do you mean she never came home last night?" Jonathan didn't say anything, just walked over to my desk and began looking through some of the sketches that lay scattered across the surface.

"Jon? Should we phone Luke? The police? I can't believe this is happening again." I whispered the last part.

"No, Clary, we can't phone the police. This is normal behaviour for her. And Luke was already here, he's out looking for her." I'm surprised at how calm he sounds. She didn't do things like this, not anymore.

"Look, c'mon downstairs. I'll make us something to eat." "I'm not hungry, Jon. Just put it in the microwave or something." I turned away from him and lay down on the bed. He looked at me for a moment, seemingly unsure whether to comfort me or leave me alone, and then left the room.

Once he had gone, I got off the bed, walked to my desk and pulled my sketchbook out. My fingers moved across the page involuntarily, my head filled with images of Mr Herondale, of things he'd said, his eyes skimming down my body while he bit his lip, his hand in mine. I snapped out of my daydream and looked down at the page. Mr Herondale was staring back at me.

 **The Next Night**

Jonathan drove me home from school, like he normally did. Well, except from yesterday. He put his key in the door, turned to me, and said, "Do you hear that?" I tried to tune my ears to the sound. It sounded like…snoring? Jon turned the key in the lock and opened the door to find our mom asleep on the couch.

Jon and I exchanged a look before he nudged her shoulder, preparing to give her the 'and where have you been young lady?' speech. I grabbed a glass of water and went upstairs to my room, telling Jon that I had to get ready to meet Simon.

I stood in front of my mirror, debating how to style my hair. I wanted to look nice as I knew Mr Herondale was going to be there. I couldn't have him see me looking like a slob.

"Mom. You can't keep disappearing like this. I thought we were through with all of this!" Jon shouted at my mom. I couldn't quite make out her mumbled response but I heard Jon speak a couple seconds later. "That's not good enough! You can't do this to us mom. Clary needs you. _I_ need you," he pleaded with her.

I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and past my bedroom, and then the sound of a door slamming shut. Jon.

I debated whether to go to him or not. I could tell he was in a really bad mood but I was unsure whether he needed comfort or to be alone.

I finished getting ready, pulled my jacket on, grabbed my bag and left my room. I walked down the hall, stopping to peer into my mom's room - she wasn't there.

I knocked three times on Jon's door and waited. He opened the door, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, his hair all messed up.

I wrapped my arms around him, my red hair just tickling his chin. "What's up?" he asked, pulling away but keeping his hands on my upper arms. "Nothing, I'm fine. I just wasn't sure if you were okay."

He smiled at me, "I'm okay. Are you going out now? Do you need me to drive you?" "That would be great, thanks," I smiled back. He lifted a shirt off his bed and pulled it over his head and then sat down to put his shoes on.

We padded down the stairs together and while he looked for his keys in the kitchen, I wandered about, looking for my mom.

"Got them," he told me, swinging his keys around his finger. I tried to smile but Jonathan noticed something was up. He always noticed.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" "Mom's not here. She's away again," I informed him, sadness evident in my voice. He ran his hands through his white-blond hair in frustration and let out a groan.

"Don't worry about it. Let's go," he said, recovering. We walked out to the car and he opened my door for me, waited while I got in, before walking around to the driver's side.

"Always a gentleman," I smirked. "Got to set you expectations, little sister," he chuckled, keeping his eyes on the road the entire time.

"Expectations? For what?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows together. "For how a man should treat you."

"You mean act like my brother? Gross," I said. "No, Clary, just don't date a dick," Jon said, gently shoving my arm.

"Never," I giggled. Mr Herondale treats me like that. He held the door open for me, he drove me home, he's helping me with my essay. Mr Herondale is a gentleman.

"You got enough money? Is Simon here yet?" Jonathan asked, jolting me from my thoughts. "Yes, I've got more than enough. I don't know, I'll just wait inside for him," I assured him. "Are you sure you don't want me to wait with you until he gets here?" "No, it's fine, honestly," I said, leaning across to hug my brother.

"Okay, if you insist. Enjoy the movie," he pulled away smiling. I thanked him as I got out of the car and walked into the cinema.

I went to stand inside and looked around. I didn't see Simon so I took a seat in one of the sofas they recently placed.

Around fifteen minutes later, ten minutes before the movie was about to start, I got a text from Simon.

* * *

 ** _Simon:_** _I'm really sorry Clary, stuck in traffic. Not going to make it before the movie starts. Reschedule? :)_

 ** _Clary:_** _Yeah, that's fine. We can go next week. I'll just text Jon to pick me up. Talk later? X_

* * *

I inwardly groaned and opened up my contacts on my phone so I could call Jon and tell him to pick me up. I scroll through my contacts, click on his name -

"Clary!" a voice shouted at me. I stood up, spun around and spotted Mr Herondale coming towards me, flanked by two handsome men who looked to be around his age.

"Mr Herondale, hey." I waved. He reached me and said, "Clary." I loved the sound of my name on his lips. "We're outside of school, you can call me Jace." "Okay, Jace," I giggled.

"Where's your friend? What's his name again?" he made a face as if he were thinking really hard. "Simon." I said. "He's not coming. Got stuck in traffic. I'm just going to call my brother to pick me up."

"No, Clary, you don't want to inconvenience your brother. You came out to have fun, you're going to have fun. You can sit with me." He was staring into my green eyes and I into his golden ones.

I tore my gaze away. "With you? And your…friends?" I asked nervously, looking at the floor. "They can sit somewhere else. C'mon." He wrapped his arm around my waist to drag me forward. "Um…okay, sure."

We walked over to his friends, his arm still around my waist. "Oy Jace, who's this?" his dark-haired friend asks. "His latest hook-up obviously," the other one said.

I blushed a deep crimson as Jace said, "Uh no. We're just friends." Friends? We weren't friends, he just couldn't tell his friends that I was his student, I reminded myself. He let his arm fall away from my waist and I suddenly felt cold at the loss of his touch.

He bought us popcorn to share and himself a large diet coke and me a large sprite. "Thanks but you don't have to pay for me," I told him. "I want to," he smiled at me. I thought back to Jon's words in the car. Jace really did fit the bill.

We walked into the cinema together and he shooed his friends away to go sit in the front and we sat in the middle.

Throughout the movie, our hands regularly touched as we reached into the popcorn bag, and every time I felt an electric spark on my skin. I wondered if he felt it too? We whispered commentary on the film to each other and I was surprised to find that we had very similar senses of humour.

Around an hour and a half into the movie, I felt the electric spark again. On my leg. I looked down and noticed that Jace now had his hand placed on my thigh, his thumb stroking my skin.

I felt my breath hitch in my throat and colour creep onto my cheeks. He smirked at me. I've noticed that he does that a lot.

His hand stayed there until the end of the movie and then made its way into my hand as we walked out. We reached the exit and I thanked Jace for letting me come with him. "It was my pleasure," he told me. "Hey, you hungry?"

"Starving."

* * *

 **Aww, Jon and Clary's relationship is super cute!**

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	4. Chapter 4

**WARNING - mentions of physical abuse, not detailed.**

* * *

Jace drove us to McDonald's and we sat in his car, eating our fries and burgers and laughing.

"Hey, won't your mom be worried about you?" he asked me. "Um no. Remember my essay?" He nodded. "And remember how I told you that it didn't happen anymore? Well that's no longer true."

"Oh, Clary. Do you want to talk about it?" He looked at me sympathetically. "Sure, I suppose it'll be easier for you to advise me on my essay if you know the whole story. And besides, I need to rant." He laughed for a moment and then his face went solemn as I began my story.

"My dad is a…bad guy. He was abusive. My brother felt the brunt of it. He would verbally abuse my mom, and he wouldn't let her leave the house. If she refused, he'd put his hands on her." I looked over at Jace, he looked upset. "Jonathan, that's my brother, could do nothing wrong and he'd hit him. He constantly told him that he was a sorry excuse for a son. I was really young at the start so he didn't touch me. The only decent thing about him."

"But eventually, my mom and Jon weren't enough, and he turned on me. Jon jumped in the way to save me and my dad ended up pushing him over, breaking his arm. It worked though, my dad didn't hurt me. So, from then on, whenever my dad was in a mood, Jon would protect me. He would take my place. That's why he inspires me. He has an immense amount of courage, and he loves me so deeply."

"My mom would tell my dad to stop but he wouldn't listen. And she wouldn't go to the police because she was in love with him and believed he could change. Most of the time he was perfectly normal and then in a second he would turn into the devil."

"And then my mom fell in love with Luke, my dad's best friend. They didn't do anything, but he could tell. He came at her and she finally phoned the police. And then he fled. I've not seen him since."

"Oh, Clary." Jace pulled me into a hug and I felt tears run down my face. "But anyway, that's just the background." I wiped my tears away and continued, "After my dad left, my mom became really angry. She broke up with Luke, even though she was in love with him and she needed him. She turned to alcohol and would disappear for nights at a time. We never knew where she was or if she was coming back."

"Jonathan had to grow up really fast because he had to take care of me, even though I was only two years younger. He found jobs to do about the neighbourhood to earn some money, learned to cook and things like that. He was amazing. My mom would eventually come back, but she wasn't herself."

"A couple of years ago Jon saved up enough money and sent mom to rehab. She came back her old self again. She recognised that she'd made a mistake not ending things with my father and turning to drink. She reconnected with Luke and they started dating, and she became the mom we needed her to be. Jon turned the family around, and mom was doing great…until a couple nights ago, after we worked on my essay, actually. That's why she never picked me up, she never came home the night before. We're trying to figure out what set it off and hopefully fix it. It might have just been a one time thing."

"I hope so," Jace whispered, his hand moving the hair away from my face. His eyes moved slowly down from mine to my lips, and stayed there. I bit my lip, was he going to kiss me? He turned around, put his hands on the steering wheel and started driving. "I think it's time we get you home." I guess not.

I told him to park a street over from mine because Jon was probably waiting up for me and I didn't want him to see Jace and worry about me dating an older guy. "I know we're just friends but my brother's really protective and he'll think something more is going on." "It's fine, I completely understand." He hands me a McDonald's napkin with a number written on it. "In case you ever need to talk," he told me. "Text me anytime." We shared one last hug before I got out of the car, I shoved the napkin into my bag, and walked over to my street.

I walked through the door and Jon was on me immediately. "Clary! Are you okay? Where were you? Did Simon bring you home?" "Yes Jon, I'm fine. Sorry I should have texted. We went for food. Uh yeah, he did. Is mom home?" He shook his head at me. "Want to watch Friends?" "Always!" I laughed, running towards the living room.

Fifteen minutes into watching Friends with Jon, I decided to text Jace.

* * *

 ** _Clary:_** _Hey, thanks for letting me hang with you tonight and for listening to me. I appreciate it more than you know. x_

* * *

Should I add the kiss? Is that inappropriate? Who am I kidding, the whole situation is innapropriate! I send kisses to everyone, I'll just do it.

He replied almost instantly, as if he were waiting for me to text.

* * *

 ** _Jace_** _: Hey, you're welcome. I'm glad you felt comfortable enough to share that with me. What you up to? x_

* * *

He added a kiss! Is that normal for guys? He's trying to keep the conversation going!

* * *

 ** _Clary:_** _I did. Just watching Friends with Jon. You? x_

 ** _Jace:_** _About to get in the shower. Enjoy Friends, I love that show. Who's your favourite? x_

* * *

The thought of him in the shower drives me more than a little crazy.

* * *

 ** _Clary:_** _I love Joey! How about you? Go shower, we'll talk after. x_

 ** _Jace:_** _Me too! I like Chandler also. Though Rachel's pretty hot. But I want to talk to you now x_

* * *

Why does the idea of him being attracted to somebody else bug me so much? He wants to talk to me!

* * *

 ** _Clary:_** _Be quick then! x_

 ** _Jace:_** _I will be. x_

* * *

Ten minutes later, my phone buzzed. I'd been waiting for it to since the last text.

* * *

 ** _Jace:_** _I'm back! Did you miss me? x_

 ** _Clary:_** _I did. What do you want to talk about? x_

 ** _Jace:_** _Let's play 20 questions. We'll take it in turns. You ask me 10, I'll ask you 10. x_

 ** _Clary:_** _That's not how you're supposed to play that game but okay. You first. x_

 ** _Jace:_** _If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?_

 ** _Clary:_** _Rome, maybe. Or just New York. Favourite childhood memory?_

 ** _Jace:_** _Bathing in a bath of spaghetti. Don't ask. What is the one thing you want to experience before you die?_

 ** _Clary:_** _Start a family. Husband, kids etc. Same question back at you._

 ** _Jace:_** _I was going to say travel the world but you've made me rethink my idea. I would hate to die without experiencing that. Love or money?_

 ** _Clary:_** _Love. What do you think is your best feature?_

 ** _Jace:_** _My eyes. First kiss?_

 ** _Clary:_** _I agree. Some douche when I was 15 at a party. Felt like a washing-machine. Yours?_

 ** _Jace:_** _12\. The hottest girl in our year behind a tree. Broke up with her two days later. Too clingy. Have you ever had a crush on a friend's parent?_

 ** _Clary:_** _You're such a player! A friend's parent, no. But I've had a crush on people older than me. Biggest fear?_

* * *

Hint, hint, Jace.

* * *

 ** _Jace:_** _Ducks. Favourite hobby?_

 ** _Clary:_** _Ducks? Are you being serious? Drawing._

 ** _Jace:_** _I'm being deadly serious. I never joke about ducks, Clary. Is that your question?_

 ** _Clary:_** _No. What made you want to become a teacher?_

 ** _Jace:_** _I want to help people. And the hours suit me. Holidays are great. What do you want to be?_

 ** _Clary:_** _I'd love to be an artist but realistically, an interior designer or something. Favourite holiday destination?_

 ** _Jace:_** _Hawaii. If we only had twenty-four hours together what do you think we'd do?_

 ** _Clary:_** _I don't know, skydive or something crazy like that. What do you think we'd do?_

 ** _Jace:_** _I'd kiss you._

* * *

Oh my god. Did he really mean that?

* * *

 ** _Jace:_** _Crap, I shouldn't have said that. Forget about it. We'll just end the game here._

 ** _Clary:_** _No, it's fine. We'll forget you said anything. x_

* * *

I'll never forget.

* * *

 ** _Jace:_** _I'll see you on Monday if we don't talk beforehand. Good luck with your exhibition tomorrow. Night x_

* * *

Aww! He remembered!

* * *

 ** _Clary:_** _Yeah. Thank you. Goodnight Jace. x_

* * *

I put my phone down on my lap, and Jon stared at me. "Who were you texting?" he inquired. "Nobody, group chat with Simon and Izzy." "Oh okay. I'm going to bed. You coming?"

Jon and I walked up the stairs together and he waved before going into his room. I lay down on my bed and thought of Jace kissing me, of his arm around my waist and his hand on my face. Monday was going to be...interesting.

* * *

 **Last chapter for the night!**

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	5. Chapter 5

**Clarification: Clary is 18 and in her final year of high school, Jace is 23 and Jon is 20 and at university. I've now added this information to the start of the story to make it easier to understand.**

* * *

Monday morning rolled around and I was both excited and anxious to see Jace. We hadn't spoken since Friday night when he had told me he wanted to kiss me. I wished he would.

Jonathan had to leave early this morning to go finish something for school so Izzy was picking me up. While I waited, I scrolled through my conversation with Jace from the other night. I'd been thinking about it non-stop since since he'd said it.

* * *

 ** _Jace:_** _If we only had twenty-four hours together what do you think we'd do?_

 ** _Clary:_** _I don't know, skydive or something crazy like that. What do you think we'd do?_

 ** _Jace:_** _I'd kiss you._

* * *

The sound of a car beeping made me jerk my head away from the screen. Izzy.

I grabbed my bag, locked the door and went out to Isabelle's car. "Clary! I'm loving this new look!" she shouted at me. "Oh this? It's nothing special." Truth is, I put a lot more effort into my outfit today than I normally would, choosing to wear black skinny jeans, black heeled boots and a royal blue top that laced up the middle. It was certainly a lot more revealing than I was used to, but I wanted to make Jace notice me.

I climbed into the passenger side of Isabelle's car and checked my makeup in the mirror. Once again, I was wearing a little more than usual, especially around the eyes as I wanted to enhance their emerald colour.

"Okay, what is up with you today? Who are you trying to impress?" Isabelle inquired. "Izzy, girls don't wear makeup and dress a certain way to impress guys." This was true, but in my case, it _was_ to make a guy notice me. Jace. "Duh, I know that. Do you seriously think I put this much effort in every day for a guy? They can't even tell a brown eyeshadow from a taupe one! It's just odd for you. I'm sorry." I laughed and said, "That's okay, Izzy. I just felt like it is all." "Well, you suit it. I like the new look," she told me. Having Izzy tell you she likes your outfit is like having Beyoncé tell you you're a great singer: it feels amazing. Not that I had any experience with Beyoncé enjoying my voice, but I couldn't think of anything else to compare Izzy's approval to.

I had English last period so I had to suffer through a whole day before I could see Jace. When English finally rolled around, I walked quickly up the stairs so I could be the first person in the classroom.

Jace looked up at me as I walked through the door, his eyes once again moving up and down my body. I knew this outfit was a good choice. "Hey," he said softly, his golden eyes now trained on my face. "Hey," I said back.

He stared at me for a moment longer before I turned around and walked to my seat in the middle of the classroom. I flipped my hair and looked over my shoulder. He quickly turned away from me, looking suspicious. He was staring at my ass. I smirked to myself and then sat down as more people entered the classroom.

He finished writing on the board and then turned around to speak to the class once everybody had arrived. Although he was supposed to be speaking to the entire class, his eyes seemed to be trained on me the entire time.

"Um why is Mr Hottie staring at you?" Izzy whispered to me once Jace had stopped talking. "J-Mr Herondale? I wish!" I joked, praying that Isabelle didn't notice my slip-up. "He totally is!" Thank god. "Oh I gave him my essay the other day. He's probably trying to judge my mood to see how I'll react to the news that it was terrible," I lied through my teeth, hoping to sound convincing. "Oh, I'm sorry. I doubt it was that bad." "Thanks, Iz. I guess I'll find out later."

We then went to work on reading the act we were set in 'Othello'. A couple of times I looked up to find Jace staring at me but he'd look away as soon as our eyes met.

As we were getting ready to leave, Jace came over to me to ask if I'd made another draft of my essay. He was so close I could smell his aftershave and feel his breath on my neck. "Oh, uh, yeah. I did one over the weekend. I can stay behind and we can talk about it," I told him. "Sounds good," he said emotionlessly and walked back to his desk. I turned around to Simon and Izzy.

"He totally likes you. That's why he kept staring at you!" Izzy said, realisation dawning on her face. "Does not," I told her at the same time Simon expressed his disgust. "Eww she's his student, that's weird. What a paedophile!" "He's not a paedophile! She's 18, Simon," Izzy said, gently smacking him on the arm. "Still weird," Simon whispered.

The bell rang and everybody left, it was just Jace, I…and Kaelie. She was taking forever to put all her books in her bag even though Jace let us pack up five minutes early. He and I just stared at each other awkwardly. "Bye, Mr Herondale!" She finally leaves, fluttering her eyelashes at Jace and then turning and scowling at me.

"So, uh, your essay. Can I take a look at it?" he asked me, keeping his eyes on the desk. "Yeah, sure." I pulled it out of my bag and gave it to him. He read over it once, taking tiny notes at the side. "It's a lot better. I didn't think that was possible but here we are," he laughed, finally looking at me. "Thanks, talking to you the other night really helped." I told him and he replied, "Good, I'm glad."

He then started going over some amendments. "So instead of saying that, I would write – ". "Jace." I interrupted. "Are we going to talk about this?" "I don't know what you're referring to, Clary," he stated, keeping his eyes on my essay. "You want to kiss me," I said, trying to sound as calm as possible.

"Why are you bringing it up, Clary? We agreed not to." He sounded annoyed. "Because I want you to," I told him.

He slowly lifted his eyes from the page to look at me. "You…what?" "I want you to kiss me," I told him. He continued to just stare at me. I walked around the desk so we were on the same side. "Kiss me," I said breathlessly.

At first I thought he looked unsure but then suddenly his lips were on mine, gentle at first, and then more passionate. One hand was in my hair, the other on my waist. He walked us backward so my back was against the wall and kissed me as if he needed me to breathe. His hands began roaming up my sides, higher and higher…and then he pushed himself off of me.

We stared at each other, breathing heavily, for a moment before he said, "I think you should leave." "Jace, what? Why?" I asked, confused. You don't kiss somebody like that and then just ditch them. "Just get out, Clary," he said, his voice raised.

* * *

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	6. Chapter 6

"I…I don't understand." I said softly, growing more and more upset. "Clary, now!" he shouted. It was loud enough to scare me but quiet enough to not alarm other teachers.

I grabbed my bag and stalked out of the room, tears streaming down my face. I walked out of school, trying to wipe the tears with my sleeve. "Clary! Oh my god, what happened? Are you okay?" It was Isabelle, sitting on a bench beside the car park.

"Why are you still here?" I completely ignored her questions and tried to steady my voice. "I thought you might need a lift." I started to refuse and then realised that I wanted to get as far from Jace as possible and it was faster than walking. "Sure." I put my head down and walked to her car.

We drove in silence, Isabelle sneaking glances at me as if she thought I might fall apart. I stared out of the window the whole time, replaying what just happened in my head. On the one hand, Jace kissed me - I should be on top of the world! But, he also banished me from his room. How was I supposed to feel about that?

I tried to push all thoughts of him out of my head and just focus on the scenery outside of the car. I was succeeding actually, until I realised something and turned my head back around to face Isabelle. "Hey, Izzy, this isn't the way to my house." "I know," she said staring straight ahead. It was then I realised what she was doing. "Isabelle, I'm not in the mood to hang out with you tonight." "And that's precisely why you should," she told me.

As soon as I walked through her front door, scowling, I had to attempt to look happy. "Clary!" Maryse, Isabelle's mom, shouted from the kitchen. "I didn't know you were coming! Will you be staying for dinner?" I didn't know I was coming either, I replied in my head. I started to say, "No, that's okay, I'm not staying long," but Izzy's loud voice overpowered mine. "Yeah, she is."

Isabelle brought us up to her room and put on a chick flick for us to watch. I've no idea what it was about; my mind was somewhere else. Izzy didn't try to make me talk, which I was grateful for.

"Dinner!" Maryse shouted from downstairs. We made our way downstairs and walked with Izzy's older brother, Alec. I didn't know Alec that well as he largely kept to himself but he's been nothing but nice to me over the years.

I was hit with the smell of Spaghetti Bolognese as soon as I walked through the door and Max, Isabelle's younger brother, shouted my name. "Hi, Max," I spoke for the first time in a while.

I didn't really say much throughout the meal, just ate and stared at my plate. "You're awfully quiet today, Clary," Maryse remarked. I looked up, unsure of how to respond, and noticed Isabelle give her mom a look that said 'Mom! She's emotionally unstable, don't bring it up.'

After dinner, I attempted to leave but Isabelle dragged me upstairs. She put another movie on in the background and decided to give me a makeover.

Half an hour after dinner, Isabelle was over at her dressing table, digging through the drawers for a specific lipstick, and I was sitting on her bed. My phone, which was charging beside her, suddenly began to ring. I figured it must be Jonathan, calling to ask if I needed a lift home.

"Who's Jace?" Isabelle asked me. I froze. Why was he calling me? After he shouted at me like that? "Oh, uh, nobody. A friend," I told her, trying to sound convincing. She raised her eyebrows, still holding my ringing phone. Should I answer it?

Alec, who must have been walking past, stuck his head through the door. "Jace who?" he asked. Both siblings stared at me. I looked down at my hands in my lap and played with my fingers. The phone stopped ringing. Would he leave a message? "Clary, I'm your best friend, you can tell me." Isabelle told me, stroking my arm.

"Herondale," I whispered.

"What?" Isabelle asked, not understanding. "Jace Herondale, that's who it is," I explained. "Jace Herondale? No way, we used to be best friends!" Alec said amazed. Isabelle just stared at me. "Herondale? As in _Mr_ Herondale?" I nodded, staring at the floor.

Isabelle looked shocked. "Why does he have your number? And why the hell do you call him by his first name?" she asked me loudly. I said nothing so she turned to Alec. "You know our English teacher?" "We met in Kindergarten and were friends all through school. We kind of fell out of touch though," he explained. They both turned to look at me. It was my turn.

"Yes. But it's not like that, we're just…" I trailed off, what were we? "Is he the reason you were upset?" Iz asked, putting the pieces together. "No!" I tried to deny it but then soon realised that there was no point in lying now. "Yes," I confessed.

"He upset you? You need me to beat him up?" Alec asked, holding his hands up in fists in front of him. Despite my sadness, I laughed. "Wait a minute, I'm lost. Can you start from the beginning?" Isabelle asked gently.

"Okay." I looked up at her. "That first day in class was the first time I met him. I was instantly attracted to him. I mean who wasn't?" I smiled sadly and Isabelle and Alec both nodded. "Me too," they said in unison.

"I wrote an essay for him and he told me that he was entering it in an essay competition and I should come by after school to work on it. It was innocent. Afterwards, my mom never picked me up. That's a different story. Jace offered to drive me home. I refused at first, but he grabbed my hand and took me to his car. We talked a lot in the car, we had tons in common, including what we were doing at the weekend. I told him that Simon and I were going to the cinema on the Friday and he suggested that I go see 'Wonder Woman' at seven because he'd be there."

"So, because I liked Jace and wanted to see him, I brought Simon to that showing. I didn't tell him why we were going at that particular time, of course. But Simon got stuck in traffic and couldn't make it. Jace let me sit with him and sent his friends somewhere else. It was good and he was kind of…flirty. Afterwards, we went to McDonald's and I told him the whole story about my parents." They both looked at me sympathetically. I wasn't aware Alec knew the whole story, Izzy must have told him. They share everything. "He gave me his number and I text him later that night, thanking him. We got to talking and were asking each other random questions."

"One of the questions was, 'If we only had twenty-four hours together, what do you think we'd do?" "What did he say?" Izzy asked, seeming very invested in the story. "That he would kiss me," I told them, smiling. Isabelle said, "awwww" but Alec looked a bit weirded out.

"He told me to forget it, but I couldn't. So, the next time I saw him, today, I told him to kiss me." "And he refused? Aww Clary!" Isabelle moved to hug me. "No, uh, he did. We kissed." They both sucked in a breath. "Well then what's wrong? That's what you wanted right?" Alec asked, looking puzzled. "Yeah it was, it _is,_ but afterwards, he pushed away from me and screamed at me to leave." I felt tears well up in my eyes again but I blinked them away.

Isabelle wrapped her arms around me while Alec stood there awkwardly. I smiled at him and then did the same to Isabelle when we pulled away from each other. "It's okay, honestly. It was inappropriate, obviously. It's just seeing him every day. It's going to be more than a little awkward."

We sat for a moment before the silence was broken by my phone ringing. It was Jace.

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 **I'm sorry guys, I feel like I always leave you on a bit of a cliff-hanger! I'm evil.**

 **Shoutout to Mayahk1 who reminded me to add this scene to the story because I'd forgotten what I was going to do with Clary telling Izzy.**

 **Also, I'm super proud of myself for updating three days in a row! I hope to continue.**

 **Keep reviewing, favouriting and following! I love waking up and reading the reviews!**


	7. Chapter 7

"Should I answer it?" I asked, looking around at Izzy and Alec. "I think you should hear him out," Isabelle told me. Alec nodded in agreement.

I swiped the screen to answer the call and walked out into the hall for some privacy.

"Clary?" Jace asked in a husky voice. "What do you want, Jace?" I snapped, pacing back and forth in the corridor as I talked. "I just…are you okay?" he asked me. "Am I okay? No, Jace! You're the reason why I'm not okay!" I cried into the phone.

"I know. I'm sorry." he replied. "Sorry isn't going to cut it! Why? Why did you do that? Was I not good enough for you?" I prayed that Jace had the words to make this all okay.

"No, no, no. Not at all. It was amazing. You were amazing." I smiled at the memory, and then remembered what came afterwards and turned the smile into a frown.

"Then _what_ could have possibly compelled you to shout at me like that? To kick me out?" The entire house could probably hear me. I didn't care. "Clary, calm down. Let me explain." He paused. "I shouldn't have kissed you. I could lose my job and I'd never get to be a teacher again. I love it, Clary, I really do." "Always thinking about yourself," I remarked under my breath.

"I'm not finished," he told me. " _You_ , you could get expelled. It would go on your record. Clary, you wouldn't be able to go to university and I know that's your dream." "So, you did this for me? Did you _have_ to scream at me?" I asked, attempting to calm myself down.

"I wanted you to hate me because I couldn't possibly hate you. So, no matter what my feelings for you are, I care about you and I want you to succeed. I'm bad for you, I don't want to ruin your life," he said sadly.

I felt tears run down my face again. He had feelings for me? "Jace, calling and explaining isn't helping me hate you." "I know. My plan was to avoid you. I'd see you in class but strictly on a professional basis. But then you were crying and I couldn't bring myself to leave you so upset," he attempted to explain.

"You were just going to ignore me? Is that still happening? Why did you kiss me in the first place?" I asked, sinking to the floor with my back against the wall. "I was. I don't know, Clary. I don't know how to act around you. And I kissed you because I couldn't help myself. I wanted you so badly. _Want_."

"Jace, please don't shut me out," I begged, sadness evident in my voice. "Goodnight, Clary," he said before hanging up. I stayed on the floor for a minute, processing everything that had been said.

"Clary? Is everything okay? What happened?" Izzy asked. I hadn't noticed her come out of her room. I explained the whole situation to her while she comforted me. "I should probably go," I told her. "I'll drive you," she offered.

My mom was home when I got in. We watched the television together but didn't really say much. "I'm going to go to bed. Night," I announced and walked up the stairs towards Jonathan's room.

His door was open so I just walked in. "Hey, Clare," Jon said. "Hey." As I've mentioned before, Jon always noticed when I was upset. "What's wrong?" he said and gestured for me to sit next to him. "It's nothing," I told him. "Boy drama." "Do I know them? Need me to set 'em straight?" Jonathan asked. "No, you don't. It's fine, it's over," I confessed. I was reassuring Jonathan that it was over but I wanted Jace to reassure me that it wasn't.

 **The Next Day**

Isabelle and I stood outside of Jace's class as we had English first period. "It's going to be okay. You don't have to speak to him. Don't even look at him," Isabelle attempted to convince me. The bell rang and I looked at Izzy nervously. She nodded and we entered the room.

I tried not to look at him and walked straight to my seat, though out of the corner of my eye I saw his eyes on me and Isabelle glaring at him. I kept my head either down or facing Izzy, and eventually Simon, until everybody came in. Once the lesson had started, I faced the front but avoided looking directly into Jace's golden eyes. He'd broken my heart. I was falling in love with him but he clearly didn't want me. The easiest thing would be pretending it didn't happen.

"So, today we're going to be starting 'Romeo and Juliet,' sometimes referred to as one of the greatest love stories ever told," Jace told the class. Isabelle scoffed. "What would you know about love?" she remarked under her breath. "Isabelle!" I hissed.

I couldn't help but notice that Jace looked less put-together today than he normally did. Was that because of our phone call?

Jace set us to work answering questions on the play and walked around the class. I completely ignored him as we walked by my desk. After what felt like forever, the bell rang and I practically sprinted out of the room to avoid him. "You can't avoid him forever, Clary," Isabelle said sadly behind me. "I can try," I replied, sassily. "Ooh! I know! You need to find a boyfriend! That way you can move on and won't be so sad!" Isabelle told me, proud of her 'genius' plan. "I'm not sad!" I retorted. She raised an eyebrow at me. "Fine, whatever," I reluctantly agreed.

Later, Simon, Isabelle and I were standing by the lockers at lunch when Sebastian Verlac approached us. I didn't know Sebastian that well but of that I did know, I didn't like. "Ladies!" he said, dragging out the 's'. Simon turned to stare at him. "What am I? Invisible?" he asked, exasperated. Sebastian ignored him and turned to Izzy and I. Simon, clearly done with the conversation, wandered away god knows where. "So, which one of you beautiful girls would like to go on a date with me this weekend?" I think he expected us to break out into a fight in the middle of the hall over who would get to go out without him, but instead, Izzy pushed me forward and said, "Clary would love to!"

He smirked at me, asked for my phone and put his number into it. He saved it under 'Sebastian' with a heart-eyed emoji. "Text me later, babe," he said before sauntering away. "Really, Isabelle? Sebastian?" I asked with a disgusted look on my face. "You know I can't stand him. He's so full of himself. And I know you wanted me to go on a date, but you didn't have to chuck me at the first guy we saw!" "Clary, just give it a go. If it's not great then fine. At least your mind will be taken off Jace for a bit," Isabelle tried to convince me. "Fine," I grumbled.

* * *

 **Hey! Hope you enjoyed that chapter!**

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	8. Chapter 8

Friday evening rolled around and I was getting ready to go out with Sebastian. We'd been texting back and forth for the past couple days and had agreed to go out to an Italian restaurant tonight.

I finished getting ready and decided that while I waited I may as well do something productive. I walked over to my desk and started moving homework and drawings into different folders and drawers. The drawing I'd done of Jace fluttered to the ground by my feet and I picked it up and looked at it sadly.

Jace and I hadn't spoken to one another since our phone call four days ago. I really wanted to talk to him but I knew that he was stubborn in his views and wasn't going to change his mind about us and I didn't want to grow any closer to him, knowing that he'd never be mine. I would only end in heartbreak and I wasn't willing to do that to myself.

The doorbell rang and I ran down the stairs to get it. I turned the key, pulled down the handle and opened the door to a smiling Sebastian. "These are for you," he said sheepishly, handing me a bunch of flowers. "Aww thanks, Sebastian. That's really sweet." This seemed odd for Sebastian but then again, I didn't know him that well. "Shall we go?" I asked.

He brought me out to his car and opened the door for me before climbing in himself. From his actions so far, ignoring everything I had previously thought of him, he seemed nice. Jonathan would like him.

Sebastian put some music on while we drove and I was happy to discover that we had very similar tastes in music. "I love this song!" I told him excitedly. "Me too!" he said, smiling.

We arrived at the restaurant and were led to our table. We talked about a lot of different things like movies and school, including English as he was in my class. "So, what do you think of the new teacher?" he asked me, while eating his pasta. "Mr Herondale? I like him, he's really nice," I replied, trying to sound indifferent. _I couldn't believe he was bringing Jace up! I was here so I wouldn't think about him._ "Yeah, better than Mr Starkweather anyway. I think all of the girls like him but that's got more to do with him being hot than anything else," he chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so," I laughed and changed the subject.

The rest of the date went pretty smoothly. I was happily surprised to realise that Sebastian was actually a really nice guy, he just seemed to put up a jerk front at school. After dinner, he drove me home and gave me a kiss on the cheek, telling me he'd see me at school on Monday. Maybe getting over Jace wouldn't be that hard.

 **Three Months Later**

Three months had now passed since Jace had last spoke to me on the phone. Sebastian and I had begun dating and everything was going great. He'd been over for dinner, multiple times, and my mom, Jon and Luke all loved him. My mom had been sober and home all the time since the incident, I guess it _was_ just a one time thing.

It was Wednesday afternoon and I was standing outside of my English class with Isabelle and Sebastian waiting for the bell to ring. Isabelle was bragging about how she brought us together. Jace opened the door and told us we could come in early, looking anywhere but my face. He still looked rough.

We walked in and followed Sebastian to his seat which was in the very back row. I sat on his desk with Isabelle to my left and Sebastian across from me.

After a few minutes, the bell rang and people slowly started coming into the room. Sebastian walked over to me, put his hands in my red curls and kissed me full on the mouth as if to tell everyone that I belonged to him. Isabelle grinned at us.

We sprung apart at the sound of a throat being cleared. It was Jace. "Sebastian, Clarissa, I don't think that's very appropriate," he said in a tense voice. Everyone that was in the class laughed. I was annoyed at the use of my full name and felt a hot flush all over my body. I walked forward to my seat and looked Jace straight in the face for the first time in what felt like forever, trying to gauge his reaction. He was scowling at Sebastian.

After class, Sebastian and I walked out together, his arm around my waist. "Hey, babe, do you want to come to my house after school?" he asked me. "Sure! I'll text Jon. Meet you in the usual place?" I said and he nodded. I turned and walked to biology, my last class of the day.

At the end of the day, Sebastian met me outside of school and drove me back to his house. We spent the afternoon watching movies, snuggled up on the couch, and then ate dinner with his family. I'd been over to his house a couple of times before so I knew everybody fairly well.

Once we had finished eating, Sebastian took me upstairs to his room which I thought was a little odd as I believed that we would be finishing the movie downstairs after dinner. We walked into his room and Sebastian shut the door behind me. "Sebastian, what are –". I started but he cut me off by pressing his lips to mine.

We walked backwards until the backs of my knees were against the bed and I fell onto it with Sebastian on top of me. We stayed like that for a while, him leaning on his elbows to keep his wait off me, kissing. Things started to get a little heated and he moved his hand out of my hair down to play with the zipper of my jeans.

Sebastian and I hadn't gone past making out before, though I could tell he wanted to. I pulled away and said nervously, "Sebastian, I don't…I'm not ready." It wasn't as such that I wasn't ready, it was just that I had always imagined my first time with someone I loved and I didn't love Sebastian. I saw him as more of a friend with benefits but figured in time I would grow to love him. But at that moment, I believed that my heart already belonged to someone else. Someone who I could never be with.

"Clary, we've been dating for three months, I've waited long enough," he snarled in my ear, pulling my zip down. "Sebastian, please," I begged but he didn't budge. I pushed him off me and stood up, walking down the stairs and towards his front door. "Clary!" he shouted after me but I ignored him.

"Clary dear, are you leaving?" Sebastian's mom asked me. "Oh, uh, yeah. My brother needs me. See you later," I lied and left the house. Luckily, Sebastian lived in my neighbourhood so it only took me around ten minutes to walk back home.

"How was Sebastian's?" Jonathan asked me when I got in. "It was…good," I replied. As much as I was annoyed at Sebastian right now, he didn't deserve to feel Jonathan's wrath.

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 **Hey! I apologise for the time-jump but this is a Clace story and there was literally no Clace in those three months. Besides, the time-jump fits in better with my vision for later chapters.**

 **I also apologise for the lack of Clace but I promise we'll get there eventually ;)  
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 **Thank you for reading! Follow, favourite and review!**


	9. Chapter 9

It was the day after Sebastian had tried to force himself on me and I'd decided that I was going to break up with him today. I didn't know what would have happened if I hadn't manged to get away and I didn't want to stick around to find out. Besides, the relationship wasn't going anywhere.

I wondered when I was going to get a chance to speak to him - as he seemed to be avoiding me - when I remembered that he had football practise later so I would go talk to him then. I worried all day about how he would take the news. _Did he actually care for me? Judging by his behaviour last night, probably not_ , I thought to myself.

* * *

At the end of football practise, I went out onto the field to see Sebastian and he came running over to me. Once he reached me, I said, "Hey Sebastian, can we talk?" "Sure," he said nonchalantly. "Come in the locker room. We'll talk there."

I followed him inside and awkwardly stood while he took things out of his locker. Once everybody else had left, he finally turned to me and said, "What's up?" "Sebastian," I started, unsure where to take the conversation. "I think we should just be friends," I said after a pause.

"Is this about last night?" he asked, his jaw set. "Yes and no. Yes, it played a part but I was already unsure," I replied hesitantly. "Why are you being such a prude, Clary? I can tell you want me," he said, walking closer to me. I backed away and said calmly, "No, Sebastian, I don't."

He pushed my back up against the locker, his body against mine and whispered in my ear, "We'll see about that."

* * *

 **Jace's POV**

I stayed a little later at work tonight than I normally would as I had a lot of marking to do and found it easier to concentrate at work than at home.

Once I had finished all the work I had to do, I left my classroom and started walking through the school towards the exit. As I was walking past the locker rooms, I heard a scream. "Stop!" a female voice yelled. I recognised that voice.

I dropped the bag I was carrying and dashed into the room. Clary was against the lockers with Sebastian pushed up against her, his hand up her shirt and face buried in her neck. "Sebastian, please, stop," she begged, tears running down her face. She was pushing at his chest, trying to get away but she was small and he easily overpowered her.

I ran up to them and pulled him off her, shoving him to the ground. "What the hell man?" he screamed at me. "Don't you ever touch her again!" I yelled back. He walked out of the room, saying a bunch of obscenities under his breath. I watched him go and then turned to look at Clary.

She was sitting on the ground, her back against the lockers, tears still wet on her face, staring into nothing. I sat down beside her and wrapped my arms around her small frame, not saying anything. She buried her face in my chest and we stayed there, like that, for what felt like forever but was probably mere minutes.

"God, I miss you," I whispered into her hair. She didn't say anything, just cuddled closer to my chest, silently telling me that she missed me too.

Eventually, we stood up to leave and I drove her home in silence. I couldn't believe Sebastian would do that to her. _She was his girlfriend for god's sake, he was supposed to protect her!_ Especially after everything that happened with her dad, I couldn't imagine how awful she must be feeling.

We arrived at her house and she hugged me, whispered her thanks in my ear and climbed out of the car. I watched her until she rounded the corner out of my sight and then began to drive away.

I thought I would be able to stay away from her but I couldn't. I was falling in love with her and I wanted to protect her from anything and everything that might hurt her.

I loved everything about her. I loved her contagious laugh. I loved the way her eyes lit up when she talked about something she was passionate about. I loved her drive and determination to make something of herself. I loved her kindness and compassion. I loved her beautiful brain, her fiery red hair. I loved her smile and how it always brightened my day. I loved the feeling of her lips against mine.

I snapped out of my thoughts and attempted to stop thinking about Clary and instead about seeing my old friend, Alec Lightwood, tonight.

* * *

 **Clary POV**

When I got in, I went straight up to my room and called Izzy. She answered on the second ring and I told her all about the assault and Jace saving me. "Oh my gosh, Clary! I'm so sorry! Do you want to come over for a girl's night?" she asked, attempting to cheer me up. "That would be great, Iz, I'll be there in an hour?" I said, enthusiastically. Spending a night with Isabelle was exactly what I needed. "Perfect. See you then," she replied happily.

Isabelle and I ordered a take-away pizza and watched tons of reality tv. "Hey, do you want to go watch it on the bigger tv?" she asked me. "Sure, yeah, whatever," I replied, nodding. We grabbed our glasses and walked downstairs in the direction of the living room.

Isabelle reached out her hand to touch the door handle but jerked back when Alec shouted at her from further down the hall, "Izzy!" Iz turned around to face her brother, "What's your problem, Alec?" she asked. "You can't take Clary in there," he told her, scratching the back of his head. "Why?" Isabelle and I asked at the same time, irritated. "Because Jace is in there," he replied quietly. I simply said, "Oh" but Isabelle started ranting at her brother about how he's not seen Jace in five years and he could have invited him any other night.

Isabelle and I traipsed upstairs and went back to watching tv in her bedroom. "Sorry about that," she said gently. "It's okay," I replied, giving her a small smile.

* * *

I had decided to stay the night at Isabelle's but visions of my time with Sebastian today kept me up. I looked at the clock: 2:46am. I groaned quietly so as not to wake Isabelle and walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water.

I was startled when I noticed a dark shape lurking in the darkness beside the fridge. "Who's there?" I asked quietly. "Clary?" came Jace's voice.

"Hey," I whispered. "Are you okay after…" Jace started to talk before I realised that he was going to ask about Sebastian - something I really didn't want to talk about. To avoid the subject, I placed my finger on his lips in a 'shh' motion, silencing him. He froze and then brought his eyes down to stare at _my_ lips. I bit my bottom lip and slowly moved my finger from his. Jace brought his face down to meet mine and then suddenly his lips were on mine and his tongue was in my mouth, dancing with my own. He brought his hands down to the back of my thighs and I jumped up, wrapping my pale legs around his waist.

Jace placed me on the counter and stood in between my legs, our lips moving in sync with one another. After what felt like an eternity, we pulled away from each other, gasping for breath.

"I should probably get back to bed," I said softly after a minute of staring and heavy breathing. I started walking away, my glass of water forgotten, but Jace took hold my wrist and I turned around to face him. "What are you doing up?" he asked, as if we didn't just make out in my best friend's kitchen. "Couldn't sleep," I explained. "Me too. Do you maybe want to come back to my room?" he asked, unsure. "Aren't you sharing a room with Alec?" I asked, confused. "Oh, no. I'm in the guest bedroom," he assured me. "Oh yeah, sure," I said and smiled up at him.

I followed him down the hall to the spare bedroom and he ushered me inside. Jace sat down on the bed with his back against the headboard and gestured for me to join him. I placed myself in between his legs with my head against his chest. I wasn't sure what our situation was going to be tomorrow but as of tonight, I just wanted to enjoy my time with Jace.

"Clary?" Jace asked while playing with my hair. "Hmm?" I responded, my eyes closed. "If this – us – is what you really want then…let's do it. You graduate in a few months, we can keep it a secret until then," he told me happily. "Really?" I asked, smiling. "Really," he said and kissed me softly. "Now c'mon, let's get some sleep," he suggested. Jace lay down and I placed my head on his bare chest and draped an arm across his stomach, our legs entwined.

* * *

 **Ahhhh I hope you enjoyed that chapter! I know I did ;)**

 **So, I don't really know where this story is going to go now (though I have ideas for random scenes) so if anyone has anything they'd like to see, leave it in a review or PM me it!**

 **Thank you for 40+ follows and 20+ favourites! It means the world to me!**

 **Review follow and favourite, please x**


	10. Chapter 10

I opened my eyes and looked around the room, unsure of where I was. I lay still for a minute before I became aware of a chest of hard muscle under my cheek and the events of last night came flooding back to me.

I felt Jace wriggle beneath me as he came to and I turned my head to look up at him. "Hey, beautiful," he said, looking at me through his golden eyelashes. "Hey," I said gently as Jace softly kissed my forehead.

"I'm going to go get some breakfast," I told Jace, sitting up and moving my hair to the right side of my neck. "You coming?" "Just five more minutes," he groaned, pulling me back down on top of him and kissing the now exposed part of my neck.

I brought his face up to mine and we lay together for a few minutes before I insisted, "C'mon, Jace, let's go." He hmphed and stood up, grabbed a t-shirt and followed me out of the room, putting it on.

"Clary!" Isabelle screeched at me as soon as I walked into the kitchen. Startled, I started to respond but was cut off. "I've been looking for you all morning! You weren't in bed, I couldn't find you and your phone was here so I couldn't contact you! Where the hell were you?" she screamed at me. "I'm sorry, Izzy. I was in Jace's room," I said sheepishly. I'd completely forgotten about Izzy. I turned around to look at Jace and he smiled at me reassuringly and placed his hand in the small of my back.

"In Jace's room? Wait, you two didn't…?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "No, we didn't," Jace confirmed. "She just slept in my bed." I blushed and Isabelle grabbed my arm, dragging me away from Jace. I looked back as we walked and noticed Alec winking at Jace. _Boys._

"Clary!" Isabelle hissed. "I thought you were over him? I can't believe he's stringing you along like this!" "Izzy, he's not stringing me along! He wants to go for it," I explained excitedly. "Go for what?" Isabelle asked, furrowing her eyebrows together. "Us! A relationship!" "Oh! Congratulations! Just, you know…be careful?" Isabelle warned. I nodded and walked back over.

"You okay?" Jace whispered in my ear when I reached him. "Yeah, I'm fine," I told him and wrapped my arms around his body. "Who wants pancakes?" Maryse's voice rang from the stairs and Jace and I sprung apart. I walked over to the breakfast bar and sat in between Izzy and Jace.

While we ate, Izzy kept looking suspiciously to Jace and I and at the hand he had on my thigh. "I'm going to go get changed," I excused myself, walking over to put my plate in the sink. "Me too," Jace said, following me out of the room.

"Hey, babe," Jace called after me in the hall, trying to get my attention. "Do you want to go out with me today?" he asked once I had turned around. "I would love that…but you realise we can't actually go out in public?" I said sadly. "I know, we can go to my apartment. I'll cook for you," he offered. "Sounds great," I said, standing on my tip-toes to kiss his cheek.

* * *

After Jace and I had both got changed, we said goodbye to Izzy and Alec and Jace drove me to his house. Luckily, Maryse and Robert, Izzy's dad, left before us so we didn't have to deal with any awkward encounters.

Jace lived in a fairly large, modern apartment in the middle of the city. It had large floor-to-ceiling windows and plain furniture in varying shades of white, grey and black. "It's simple," he told me. "But that's how I like it." "It's lovely," I said while walking around. "I'm glad you think so," he said, sitting down on the white sofa.

"Really? Why's that?" I asked, smirking. "Well, because your opinion matters to me. And, I hope you'll be spending a lot of time here so it'd be nice if you liked it," he said, smiling at me. "I hope so, too," I told Jace and sat beside him.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and flicked through the channels on the tv. "How about that?" I asked, pointing at the screen. "The Notebook'? You're not being serious, Fray," he said, pouting. "I'm being deadly serious," I told him but he just stuck his tongue out at me and moved on.

Eventually, we agreed to watch the first 'Harry Potter' movie. And then the second. And then the third. "Jace, I'm hungry. Where's this dinner you promised me?" I teased as the credits for 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban' played across the screen.

"I'm going. I'm going," he muttered. "Do you need any help?" I yelled from the living room. "No, I'm perfectly capable!" he yelled back so I continued watching Harry Potter.

* * *

Eventually, Jace came into the living room with a napkin over one arm as if he were a waiter. "M'lady, your table awaits," he told me in a posh accent. I giggled and followed him into the kitchen where he had placed candles and two covered plates on the table. I sat down and he lifted the cover while saying, "Bon appétit!"

"Pizza?" I asked, giggling. "Homemade pizza, my love," Jace corrected me. "You're such a goof," I laughed before biting into my pizza. It was actually really good, though I'd just had pizza yesterday. "I am not a goof! I am a sexy stud, I'll have you know," he stated, playing mock offended. "Well, that too. But I love that you're a goof."

"So, how's my creation?" Jace said, gesturing at my pizza after I'd had a few slices. "It's actually really delicious!" I said cheerily. "Why are you surprised? I'm an excellent cook," he said, smirking. "Mmhmm we'll see about that."

* * *

 **Wow this was my shortest chapter yet. I'm sorry.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I obviously don't own 'Harry Potter' or 'The Notebook' just like I don't own these characters. I only own the plot.**

 **Review, follow and favourite!**


	11. Chapter 11

"See you later," I said, waving to Jonathan and walking over to Izzy and Simon outside of school. My eyes drifted down to their joined hands and I looked up expectantly, my eyebrows raised.

"Clary, Simon and I have something we'd like to tell you," Isabelle told me, her tone both excited and nervous. I motioned for them to go on though I already knew what they were going to say. "Iz and I are dating!" Simon said, all smiles, holding up their joined hands. "Congratulations, you guys!" I squealed, pulling them both in for a hug.

"So how long has this being going on?" I asked, starting to walk to class. Isabelle and Simon followed as he explained, "Well, I've had a crush on Izzy for a while, as you know, but I didn't think she felt the same. We agreed to go to the carnival the other night and one thing led to another, feelings came out, we kissed and then started dating." "Aww that's amazing, you guys!" I said excitedly.

Simon excused himself to go talk to his lab partner about a project and Izzy turned to me. "So, how was your date on Saturday?" Isabelle asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. "Nothing like that! We watched films, ate pizza. It was good," I dished.

"Are you excited to see him?" she asked me. "Of course! Though I worry we could make it too obvious and be found out." "I'm sure you'll be fine," Izzy assured me.

"Are you going to tell Simon?" "Probably, I'm not sure he'll understand though." Izzy nodded as the bell rang before she departed to go to her first class.

I had Biology first period, and though the end of the year was approaching, I couldn't make myself concentrate. I stared at the clock and thought about Jace for most of the lesson and when it was over, I rushed out of my seat in order to be the first one in class.

The door was open when I arrived so I walked straight in and over to Jace's desk. "Clary," he breathed. I wanted so desperately to pull his face to mine and kiss him but I knew that other students would be arriving any second so I restrained myself.

"Good morning, Mr Herondale," I said, nodding. I noticed Sebastian eyeing us with a strange look on his face as he came in though I wasn't sure what it was. Jealousy? Suspicion?

I walked back to my seat just as Kaelie came in and sat on Jace's desk. "Good morning, sir" she said seductively, her tiny skirt riding up her thighs. My eyes shot daggers at her back.

"Uh hi, could you get ready for class please, Kaelie?" Jace said in response, turning back around to look at his computer. I smirked and watched as Kaelie stomped over to her desk, clearly irritated. Jace looked up and noticed my eyes on Kaelie, my mouth turned up, and shook his head at me, smiling.

I watched Jace throughout the lesson, admiring his body, his brain, his voice. His eyes kept unintentionally flicking towards me and I could tell he was proud when I answered a question correctly.

I took forever putting my books away, waiting until everybody had left for break. Jace followed the last student to the door and then locked it behind him.

I walked briskly over to him and placed my mouth over his, pushing his back against the wall. My small artist's hands moved over his arms, feeling the hard muscles under his blue shirt as his pianist ones moved down my back. Jace eventually pulled away from the kiss, his hands still on my hips.

"Not here, not now," he told me, in between pants. "Sorry, I've wanted to do that all lesson," I told him, my hands still on his upper arms. "Believe me, Clary, so have I," he said quietly, his forehead against mine and his breath on my face.

* * *

At lunch, I was sitting with Isabelle and Simon which was a little awkward now that they were a couple. I felt like a third-wheel.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to see Sebastian smiling down at me. "Don't touch me!" I warned, jerking my shoulder back. I took a breath in. "What do you want, Sebastian?" I recovered, my eyes narrowed.

"I think…that there's something between you and Mr Herondale," he whispered to me while Simon and Izzy stared at us. How could he possibly know that? "Oh, so because Mr Herondale saves me from assault, _your_ assault, there must be something more going on? Sebastian, I'm sure that's what any _decent_ guy would do. Get over yourself," I spat. "See, I don't believe you. There's something going on and I'm going to prove it," he seethed before storming away.

Isabelle looked at me worriedly but I shook my head as if to tell her that we could discuss it later.

Safely at home several hours later, I sent Jace a text.

 _ **Clary:** Sebastian is suspicious. I think we should lay low for a while. x_

 _ **Jace:** Suspicious of us? He spoke to you?! _

_**Clary:** Yes. At lunch. I'm okay though. We just need to be careful. He says he'll find proof. x_

 _ **Jace:** You're right, we can't give him any. So, no more kissing in classrooms? x_

 _ **Clary:** No, Jace. Goodnight. x_

 _ **Jace:** Goodnight, Clary. Sleep well x_

* * *

 **I apologise sincerely for the wait! I was on holiday for two weeks and then the past couple days I've been back, I've had no motivation to write as I'd been away for a while.**

 **I'm not really happy with this chapter but I hope you enjoyed nonetheless!**

 **Also, I have an idea for a new story (also Clace)! So, I'm going to start working on that either today or tomorrow.**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	12. Chapter 12

Over the next few days, being around Jace became increasingly difficult. I couldn't kiss him, touch him or even speak to him for worry that Sebastian would see us. I hadn't even been around to his place - I didn't know how far Sebastian was taking this. The only time I got with him was student/teacher conversations in class or over the phone. It wasn't enough.

* * *

I was dancing around my bedroom to one of my favourite songs, thinking about Jace. I wanted to see him again, properly. The song ended and I collapsed on the bed, out of breath.

Eventually, I rolled off my marvellously comfortable bed and dragged myself downstairs to get a glass of water. My mom and Luke had went to the cinema for the night so it was just Jonathan and I in the house.

He was sprawled out on the sofa when I went downstairs, watching something on the television that looked rather gruesome. I wrinkled my nose in disgust and said, "Hey, Jon."

"Hey, Clare," he replied affectionately, not removing his eyes from the screen. "What're you watching? It's disgusting." I asked, perching on the arm of the sofa. "T'is not! This is quality television!" he retorted, shaking his head at me. "Whatever you say," I chuckled and walked into the kitchen.

I poured myself a glass of water and was digging through the cupboards looking for something to eat when I heard Jon say my name. "Yeah?" I called back, reaching up to open the top cupboard where we stored various types of chocolate.

"Who's Jace?" He had paused the television and was stood in the kitchen, leaning against the counter. My hand dropped back down to my side and I asked, "Why?" trying to keep my voice steady. "Your phone kept ringing. I called up to you a couple times but you had that music playing so loud you didn't hear me," he explained. I had left my phone in the kitchen, the volume all the way up.

"So I checked to see if it was anything important but I didn't recognise the name," Jonathan paused. "Is he...your boyfriend?" he asked with a smirk on his face. "No! Why would you think that?" I knew that if Jonathan found out I had a boyfriend, my mom and Luke would also find out and would want to meet him. I couldn't risk them realising that he was a little older than me or connect the dots and figure out that he was my teacher.

"He sent texts too," Jon told me, inclining his white-blonde head to where my phone lay on the worktop.

I snatched it up and turned it on. I had three missed calls from him and several texts.

 _ **Jace:** Clary?_

 _ **Jace:** You free to talk?_

Half an hour later he had sent some more.

 _ **Jace:** Clary, please call me. I want to hear your beautiful voice!_

 _ **Jace:** I miss you!_

Oh god. "Oh Jace is a close friend. He's just joking around," I explained with a faint smile. "Really? You've never talked about him before," he stated, returning my smile. It was pretty obvious that he didn't believe me but I decided to just go along with it. "I guess not. Well, I better call him back. Enjoy...whatever it is you're watching." "I will," Jonathan laughed.

I grabbed my glass and went back upstairs to my bedroom, shutting the door firmly behind me.

I quickly dialled Jace's number and put my phone to my ear. He answered on the second ring, opening with "Finally!" "Jace!" I said into the phone, raising my voice. "Jonathan saw your texts! He asked if you were my boyfriend!" "Woah, woah why are you shouting at me? I didn't leave your phone lying around."

I sighed in defeat. "You're right. I'm sorry." "It's okay, babe. What did you tell him?" he asked. My heart fluttered at the use of that word. "Just that you were a friend joking around. I don't know if he believed me," I explained nervously.

"It's fine. I miss you. I mean, I see you everyday but I can't touch you or speak to you properly. And it's so hard. Clary, I need you." He sounded sad. "I understand, Jace. I feel the same way." I paused, listening to his breathing. "Can I come over on Sunday?" Jace paused for a moment, considering the idea. "Clary, it's not...I don't think it's a good idea," he said softly.

A wave of sadness washed over me. "You're right. It was stupid of me to ask. I just miss you is all." Jace, hearing the sadness in my voice, said, "Oh screw it. Come over. Just...be discreet." "I will be. Goodnight Jace." "Night, Clary."

* * *

 **Hey friends! I'm sorry this chapter was so short and uneventful and late! It's really just a filler chapter.**

 **I wrote the part where Clary goes to Jace's house and it was in this chapter but I decided to remove it as it was far too long. I'm hoping to write the rest tonight and maybe you'll get a new chapter either tomorrow or Tuesday. I think you guys deserve it after that wait and this boring chapter.**

 **As for the lack of updates, I've really not been in the mood to write. I always forget how much I love it until I start.**

 **Thank you for being patient with me. I appreciate you all. R &R and tell me what you would like to see!**


	13. Chapter 13

I knocked three times on Jace's front door and took a step back, waiting. I heard the lock turning and then I was looking up into those golden eyes that I loved.

His face lit up at the sight of me and then he stepped back to let me through the door. I noticed with a smirk that he was wearing nothing but a pair of skinny grey jogging bottoms and his hair was standing up at odd angles.

I took in his golden, washboard abs and the v of his hips and felt my face heating up.

Jace closed the door behind me and then walked over and placed a chaste kiss on my lips. Why was he being so gentle? I hadn't kissed him in over a week, that wasn't what I wanted.

I pouted and pulled his face down to mine. Jace parted his lips and my tongue delved into his mouth, exploring every corner. Our bodies pressed closer together until there wasn't a single centimetre of space between us and I could feel his heart beating against my chest. I slanted my head, deepening the kiss before Jace pushed me over to his sofa.

I fell back on it with a soft thud and Jace lay on top of me, his legs between mine, leaning on his elbows so as not to crush my small frame. He placed a small kiss on my lips and then drew back to look at me for a moment. I felt a blush growing on my cheeks under his scrutiny and giggled. "What?" I asked him. "You're beautiful," Jace whispered, his eyes darkening.

That was all the motivation I needed. I put my hands on either side of his head and pulled him into a fiery and passionate kiss. My hands moved down to explore every crevice and line of his toned physique as his slowly inched from their place on my hips up under my shirt.

His fingertips found the bottom of my bra and I froze, jerking back, my head suddenly filled with images of Sebastian. "Clary? What's wrong? Do you want to stop?" Jace asked me, looking into my eyes and stroking my cheek. The lust and desire that had been in his eyes mere seconds ago had now been replaced by worry and adoration. "No, it's...Sebastian," I managed. I thought I had moved past what had happened, but I guess not.

"Oh, Clary." Jace disentangled our bodies and pulled back, looking at me across the sofa. I felt the beginnings of tears prickling my eyes and curled into Jace's chest. He wrapped his strong arms protectively around me and I sat in silence for a moment, listening to his heart beating.

"Clary, have you ever...?" Jace trailed off. He didn't need to finish, I knew what he was asking. "No," I said softly. He hugged me tighter to his body as if he were trying to make us one person and said in a hoarse voice, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" I looked up at him. "For Sebastian. For pushing you." Jace said sadly. "You didn't," I reassured him. "And Sebastian's not your fault. It would have been much worse if you weren't there." I put my hand on his cheek and placed a small kiss on his lips.

"I shouldn't have done that. We can't go any further - I'm still your teacher," he said, his hand stroking my back. I muttered in sad agreement and closed my eyes, falling into sleep.

* * *

When I awoke, what could have been minutes or hours later, Jace was no longer beneath me. My head was now resting on one of the pillows from his sofa and I had a blanket covering me.

As I came to, I realised that there was a piano playing softly. "Jace?" I said, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. No reply came so I stood up and followed the noise.

Jace was sitting in front of a piano in a room I'd never been in, his fingers moving expertly over the keys. I stood in peaceful bliss for a moment, watching him. As he reached the end of the piece he was playing, he turned around and noticed me at the door. "Hey, did I wake you?" he asked softly. "No, you didn't. That was amazing," I smiled.

"You're amazing," he told me, coming over and kissing me softly. I wrapped my arms around his torso, breathing in the scent of him: vanilla and soap and sunlight and Jace. "Do you wanna stay for dinner?" he asked into my hair. "I would love that," I said, smiling up at him.

* * *

The next day at school, Izzy was telling me about her plans for spring break next week. Her father, Robert, was in the hotel business and had recently opened a new one in Hawaii called 'The Clave'. He was bringing his family over for the entire vacation and so Isabelle and Alec were told that they were allowed to bring some friends to keep themselves amused.

"Would you like to come?" Isabelle asked me excitedly. "I would love to! I mean, I'll have to speak to my mom but it should be fine."

"Okay, Simon's coming too." Izzy smiled. Isabelle had decided not to tell her parents that she and Simon were now a couple as she thought that they wouldn't let him come over as often or go on this holiday with her if they knew. It was pretty clever actually.

"Wow, I'm gonna be such a third-wheel! But then what's new right?" I joked. "How about I convince Alec to bring Jace?" Isabelle suggested. That was a great idea - Jace and I could actually be a couple without having to hide!

"He's already bringing his new boyfriend, Magnus, but I'm bringing two friends so I'm sure he could too," Isabelle continued. From my understanding, Alec had argued a lot with his parents to allow him to bring Magnus but they eventually agreed after he made the point that he was 23 and didn't have to listen to them.

"Oh, would you really? That would be amazing, Iz!" "Of course, Clary! My mom and dad will be working most of the time anyway. Speaking of..." Isabelle inclined her raven head forward and I turned around to see Jace walking up the corridor.

No matter how many times I saw him, I didn't think I'd ever stop being blown away by how beautiful he was. He looked like he had been carved by angels.

I heard collective sighs from many of the girls in the corridor and even a few guys as he passed. "Isabelle, Clary," he said, smiling when he reached us. "Good morning," I smiled at him.

* * *

The sound of my phone ringing jolted me from my homework. I smiled as I read the caller ID: Jace.

"Hey," I picked up, excitement evident in my voice. "Hey. What's this about us going to Hawaii?" He chuckled. "Isn't it great? We can go on real dates! Outside!" I laughed. I'd spoken to my mom about it as soon as I got in and she thought that it would be a great experience for me. "It is great. I can't wait," Jace said, sounding almost as excited as me. "Me neither."

I hung up the phone and looked around my room. If I was going on holiday in less than a week, I should probably find clothes to pack.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed the double update!**

 **I go back to school this week so updates will probably be once a week but I'll try get more out if I can!**

 **Did you get the sunlight reference? In CoHF, Simon says that's what Shadowhunter smell like.**

 **This story now has 75 followers which is absolutely crazy! I love you all!**

 **Thank you for reading! Hawaii next update ;)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Jace's POV in this chapter as we've not had one in a while!**

* * *

"Jon!" I shouted. I waited a minute before calling again, "Jonathan!" He came into my room half a minute later and yelled, "I'm here! What do you want!?"

I put my hands up in mock surrender and said, "Sit on my suitcase, please?" "Really? _That's_ what you wanted?" He moaned, moving over to my bed, where my suitcase lay. "Sorry?" I suggested.

Jonathan sat on top of the case as I zipped it around. "What have you got in that thing?" He laughed, climbing off my bed. "You're only going for two weeks!" "Look, I've never been on holiday before! How am I supposed to know what to bring?" I asked him.

"I don't know. Ask Izzy or something," he suggested, shrugging his shoulders. "I did. She suggested I bring something like thirty outfits, eighteen pairs of shoes and twenty bikinis! Which seems a bit extravagant if you ask me but that's Izzy for you," I giggled.

"Geez, has the woman never heard of a washing machine?" Jon asked incredulously. "Honestly, probably not. I've never seen her wear the same outfit twice," I laughed, completely serious.

Jonathan and I were laughing when my mom came in. "What you guys talking about?" she asked, leaning against the door frame. "Izzy," I wheezed as Jonathan said, "washing machines."

We burst out laughing again and then Mom gave us both a strange look and moved on, "How are you feeling, Clary?" "Excited," I told her. "But kinda nervous, I've never been abroad or on a plane before." "I'm sure you'll be fine," she assured me. "Now c'mon, I'll drop you at Isabelle's."

Our flight was at 7am so we decided that it would be easier if I just stayed at Isabelle's house the night before. Jonathan lifted my case and carried it downstairs as I grabbed my backpack from the foot of the bed. I didn't want to have to reopen my case so I had decided to just bring a small bag of clothes and necessities that I could leave at Isabelle's while we were away.

I walked downstairs and gave Jon and Luke a hug before leaving with my mom. Jonathan was jealous that I was getting to go away and he wasn't, he'd told me; he had huge exams coming up so couldn't go anywhere. I still couldn't believe Jonathan was going to be a doctor soon.

* * *

Isabelle was waiting for me when I arrived and ran over to give me a hug and help with the case. Once I had hugged my mom goodbye, Isabelle and I went inside and up to her room.

Alec's door was slightly open and I found myself trying to peer in as I passed. Isabelle, noticing where I was looking, said, "Jace isn't here." "Oh," I said with a faint smile. "He's meeting us tomorrow," Isabelle explained. "Same with Magnus. Simon's here though - my mom's making him sleep on the couch."

"Does she -" I lowered my voice, "- know about you guys?" "No, but he's a boy. So she's still wary about letting him sleep in my room." I nodded in understanding. Simon and I had been best friends since kindergarten so my mom was fine with him sleeping next to me, but he'd only met Izzy in high school. Besides, they _were_ dating. She wasn't wrong to be wary.

As if on cue, Simon walked in and gave me a hug from behind. We all hung out for a bit as I had finally decided I'd better tell Simon what was going on with Jace - he took it surprisingly well, before Simon had to go downstairs to his makeshift bed on the living room sofa. "If you're happy, I'm happy," he had said.

* * *

Once Isabelle and I were tucked up in bed, much earlier than I usually was, our conversation turned to my favourite topic. "So are you excited?" she asked me. "Of course!" I smiled at my best friend.

"More specifically, are you excited about being with Jace?" she asked, tucking a strand of raven hair behind her ear. "I really am. Thank you so much, Iz." "For what?" she asked, her eyebrows scrunching together. "For giving us this opportunity," I smiled widely. "You're my best friend. I'd do anything for you." She sounded as sure as she was of her name. As sure as any fact in a textbook.

"And I you. Night, Izzy," I pulled the covers up to my chin. "G'night, Clary."

* * *

During breakfast, we all sat groggily around the table, trying not to fall asleep in our cereal. "Clary!" a voice shouted at me. "Max!" I said happily, giving him a hug. I loved the little Lightwood, he was always so energetic. How could he be this awake at 4am?

Eventually, Isabelle and I dragged ourselves upstairs to get ready and then moved to the living room to wait for everybody else. Who would have thought that Isabelle would be first ready? Finally, Simon came down, and then Max and Alec, and finally Robert and Maryse so the whole (extended) family was congregated in the room.

Once we had managed to fit all of the cases in the back of the car, we eventually set off for the airport.

* * *

 **Jace's POV**

I was standing inside near the entrance to the airport waiting for the Lightwoods to show up. I let out a yawn and pulled up my sleeve to check the time on my watch: 4:42am. They should be here any minute now.

I was thinking about my need for coffee when I saw a flash of orange out of the corner of my eye, like the ember of a flame. I turned around and there was my redhead.

I quickly checked to make sure that Maryse and Robert were out of sight before I picked my girlfriend up and spun her around, placing a kiss on her lips once she was firmly on the ground.

"I missed you," I told Clary, putting my arm around her shoulders as we walked over to hand in our cases. "You saw me last week," she giggled. "That's far too long," I said quietly, leaning over to nibble her ear.

* * *

Once we were on the plane, feeling a lot more energised after a cup of coffee, Clary and I were discussing our trip. We'd managed to get seats together as Maryse, Robert and Max were a lot further back. Next to us, Magnus and Alec were sitting together and Simon and Isabelle behind us, who were now dating. At least, that's what Clary had told me.

Magnus seemed to have taken quite a liking to Clary and they were now talking about all the places Magnus has visited. "Where was your favourite?" Clary asked eagerly. "London was lovely, I lived there for a few years. Oh and Peru was fabulous but unfortunately I can't go there anymore," Magnus told her.

"Why?" Clary asked, confused. "I may or may not…have got banned, biscuit," Magnus chuckled.

* * *

About halfway into the plane journey, Clary had fallen asleep on my shoulder and so I'd decided to watch a couple movies. As we were reaching our destination, I regrettably had to wake her up. She looked so peaceful, I wished I could wake up to that sight every morning. "Clary, babe," I said, moving a piece of her red hair out of her face, "You need to wake up. We're here."

She gradually awoke and smiled up at me. The sight sent a warmth rushing from my heart all the way through my body.

I got our bags down from above the seats and we slowly made our way through the plane, towards the exit. We were met with a gust of warm air as we stepped off and I turned to Clary, a smile on my face, and said, "Welcome to Hawaii, Fray."

* * *

 **This chapter was very choppy, I'm sorry!**

 **If you have not already, please take a look at my new story, 'Promised'. It's a sort of royal/arranged marriage story. The second chapter will be up within the next few days!**

 **About updates: You will definitely get an update at least once a week and possibly more but I can't promise anything. I'm just back at school so I don't have too much homework but I know that I will in the future so I'll do my best to bring you as many updates as possible, on both stories.**

 **Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!**


	15. Chapter 15

After a long and boring car journey from the airport, we finally arrived at the hotel.

As I walked through the huge front doors, with Simon on one side of me and Jace on the other, I looked around, taking in the stunning building. I spun around, admiring the marble and gold interior and the high-ceiling that had palm trees and other beach-related things painted on it.

"Woah!" I remarked as Jace chuckled at me. "I know right? This is the biggest one of their hotels," Alec informed us. "It's amazing," Magnus and I said simultaneously. We turned to each other and laughed - I could tell we were going to be great friends.

Maryse and Robert had wandered off to see to our rooms so we all stood together in the lobby talking about our plans for the holiday. "I'm going to swim in the sea!" Max told us all excitedly. "That sounds amazing! Can I come with you?" I asked, ruffling the nine-year-old boy's hair. "Of course! You all can!" he said, turning around to look at everybody. They all smiled at him and said they would.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting a tan," Isabelle told us, examining her skin. Isabelle tanned so easily, she could be out in the sun for five minutes and come back in bronze. I, however, burned very easily as I had such a pale complexion and had to slather myself in sun cream anytime there was the tiniest hint of sunshine.

"You do that, Isabelle. I'll be under my umbrella in my SPF 50, pale as a ghost," I said. Jace laughed and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "Sorry, Clare. I'm with Izzy here," he said, almost apologetically. "Oh shut up! You're already tan!" I snapped jokingly, waving my hand at his golden skin.

"I don't need to tan," Magnus said, gesturing at his olive skin tone. Before I could reply, Maryse came over and Jace dropped his arm from my shoulder. I pouted and then quickly turned it around.

"Okay, guys, I got your keys." Maryse said when she reached us. "Izzy and Clary will be on the second floor and the rest of you on the third floor," she said smiling. Isabelle rolled her eyes and then took her key from her mom. I was surprised to find that I was getting my own room, I guess I'd figured I'd be sharing with Izzy.

I took the key from Maryse and waited while everybody else got theirs. Maryse very deliberately placed Magnus' key in his hand as if to highlight that he wasn't to share with Alec. I doubted that would stop him.

Once everybody had their keys, we all made our way into the elevator, leaving Max behind with Maryse. Izzy and I got out at the second floor and wished everybody goodnight. Jace gave me a kiss on the cheek and Simon did the same to Isabelle, then they watched us leave before the doors closed behind us.

Fortunately, our rooms were pretty close to the elevator and were inter-connecting so we could open a door and walk straight through into the other person's room.

I went into Isabelle's room for a bit where we sat and watched television, waiting for our luggage. When it finally arrived, I gave Izzy a hug before going back into my own room, quickly changing, brushing my teeth, and falling on the bed exhausted.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of someone knocking on wood. "Clary?" Isabelle half-yelled. It may be her father's hotel but I'm sure she could still get in trouble for shouting at...I rolled over to look at the alarm clock on the night stand: 10:17am. That's actually very reasonable, I thought to myself before climbing out of bed and opening my door to let Isabelle in.

"Finally!" she said, walking over to my unmade bed and plopping down on it. "What do you want Iz?" I asked, rubbing my eyes and closing the door she'd came through.

"Get changed. We're going to breakfast and then heading down to the pool," she told me, standing up and beginning to open my suitcase on the floor. I couldn't be bothered to unpack last night.

"Which of the bikinis do you want?" Izzy asked me, rifling through my luggage. Before we came on holiday, Isabelle made me go shopping with her and chose a couple outfits for me to bring, including a couple bikinis.

"Um I don't know, the pink one, I guess," I shrugged my shoulders. "Perfect!" Isabelle said, pulling it out. "Jace will love it!"

I felt a blush growing on my cheeks and a smile forming on my face. "Are they meeting us for breakfast?" I asked. "No, they're already at the pool so you better hurry up!" Izzy said, throwing the bikini at me.

"Fine, fine, I'm going!" I walked into my bathroom and shut the door. I washed my face, brushed my teeth, put sun-cream and the dusty-pink bikini on and pulled my hair up into a bun on the top of my head.

I opened the door and walked out as Isabelle squealed. "You look amazing!" she told me and handed me a sundress and flip-flops, in the same colour as the bikini, to put on.

I grabbed the beach-bag Isabelle had packed for me and together we left the room.

* * *

After an amazing breakfast, Isabelle and I made our way down to the pool. As we stepped through the doors, I instantly noticed Jace's golden head bobbing above the surface of the water.

The sunlight was reflecting off the water, making it glisten. Sun-beds and chairs were scattered all around, some in the sunshine, some under umbrellas. The pool was quite quiet, with maybe 15 or so other people. Beside the pool there was a little walkway that led straight down to the beach. I was itching to go down it and feel the sand under my toes.

Isabelle and I spotted Simon by the beach and walked over to him. I took refuge under an umbrella and Isabelle chose a sun-bed in the sun between Simon and I.

She pulled her black dress off, revealing her scarlet strappy bikini underneath. I chuckled in amusement at the look on Simon's face and then turned my attention towards the pool.

Jace was looking my way and motioned for me to join him. "Bye guys, I'm gonna go see Jace." I stood up and pulled my mid-thigh-length dress over my head so I was only in my pink bikini set.

I took my sunglasses off and left them on the sun-bed before I started walking over to the pool. I watched as Jace's mouth opened and his eyes widened, and I realised with a jolt that this was the most Jace had ever seen of my skin.

I reached the water and sat down on the edge beside where Jace was standing, still gaping at me. "Like what you see, blondie?" I giggled.

Jace gulped. "Uh yeah. Very much," he nodded. I smiled and bent down to kiss him. Instead, Jace placed his wet hands on my waist and pulled me into the water with him. My legs found a place above his hips and he supported my thighs, putting his mouth over mine.

Alec coughed beside us and we broke apart, laughing. "Sorry Alec," Jace said sheepishly. "Can you really blame me though?" he asked, smirking at me, as I unwrapped my legs from around his waist. I blushed and took the time to admire his naked chest. He really was beautiful.

"Not really my type man," Alec responded, swimming away and over to Magnus. Jace and I both started laughing before he pulled me underwater and we swam to the other side.

"Wanna get out for a bit? I need a drink," Jace asked me. "Yeah sure," I said, smiling up at my boyfriend.

Jace bought me a strawberry smoothie from the pool bar and then took my hand as we walked over to where Isabelle and Simon lay.

"I told you he'd love it," Izzy said in a sing-song voice as I lay down. "What?" Simon asked, looking up from the comic he had been reading. "The bikini," Isabelle said in a 'duh' sort of way.

"That I do," Jace said, shooting me a smile.

We all fell into a comfortable silence after a while, Isabelle sunbathing, Simon reading, Jace doing both (always an overachiever) and me lying on my back enjoying the atmosphere.

Isabelle and Simon left to get in the pool, leaving Jace and I behind. After a while, I realised that I hadn't heard the sound of a page turning in a few minutes so I looked at Jace out of the corner of my eye.

"You're staring, Jace," I said, turning to face him, lying on my side. His eyes travelled down my body. "Aren't I allowed to look at my sexy-as-hell girlfriend?" he asked with a smirk. No one had ever called me sexy before. Beautiful, gorgeous, pretty, sure. But never sexy. And with Jace looking at me like that, I felt it.

Before I could say anything, Magnus shouted from the pool, "Hey, you guys! You coming in? We're playing a game!"

Jace looked to me and I nodded before we stood up together and walked over to join the others.

* * *

 **So much fluff!**

 **Sorry for the late update, this week has been crazy! This chapter is longer than usual to make up for it!**

 **Also, we're two follows away from 100! That's absolutely crazy! Thank you so much – I love you all!**

 **Thanks for reading – follow, favourite and review!**


	16. Chapter 16

**So here we are, two years later. I never planned on updating this story and honestly, I cringed looking back on it. But last night I was in the fanfic mood, so I logged in to access my favourites, ended up reading my own, and here we are.**

 **Am I going to continually update this story? I don't know. But I want to now. I remember when I was writing this, I told myself I had to finish it because there was nothing more annoying than loving a fanfic that's not finished and seeing it hasn't been updated in years. So we'll see, maybe I'll finish it.**

* * *

Jace and I walked hand-in-hand over to the pool to join the others. "What are we playing?" I asked, stepping into the pool. "Chicken fight," Simon said, excitedly. "Chicken - what now?" asked Jace, pushing his golden hair out of his eyes.

"Basically, there are two people in a team. One person sits on the other person's shoulders and then the top person has to try and knock the other teams into the water while the bottom person manoeuvres. Got it?" Magnus explained.

Everybody nodded and then we split off into our teams: Magnus and Alec, Simon and Izzy, and Jace and me. Jace bent down in the water so I could climb onto his shoulders, ready to start the game. He gripped my calves and I wrapped my arms around his neck as we waited for Magnus and Izzy to climb onto their partners.

"And, go!" Magnus shouted, leading everybody to charge forward. There was a flurry of limbs and a spray of water as we tried desperately to knock the other players off.

Magnus and I had both chose to aim for Izzy so she fell first into the water, and then Jace and Alec turned to each other. Magnus and I began pushing and pulling at each other as Jace and Alec made faces and taunted each other.

After a few moments of struggle, Magnus pushed me, hard, and I let go of Jace, falling into the water. I was only under for a few moments before I was pulled up and out by Jace's strong arms.

Jace deposited me on the ground and I turned around to watch Alec running around the pool, with Magnus still on his shoulders, as they chanted, "We win! We win!" over and over again.

Jace stuck his middle finger up at Alec and turned to pout at me. "Don't worry, we've got two weeks. We'll get them back," I reassured him. He kissed me on the forehead and then we walked over to where Simon and Izzy were standing.

"Hey, do you guys want to move down to the beach?" Simon asks us. We all agree and climb out of the water. We decide to leave our things where they are, and then I grab Jace's hand as we walk down to the beach with the rest of our friends.

"What are we doing tonight?" I ask my friends when we reach the sand. "Ow!" Izzy complains about the burning sand, before saying "well I thought you'd want to hang out with Jace, but maybe we could do something all together later?" "Yeah sure, that sounds good." I tell her smiling.

"Can you guys drink here?" Magnus asks Simon, Izzy and I. "No, the drinking age here is 21 I'm pretty sure," Jace tells him. Izzy pouts before perking up and saying, "but maybe in the hotel. Our father is the owner after all."

We spend the day swimming in the sea, splashing each other, and lying on the beach. It's the happiest I've felt in a long time but having Jace here is the best part of it all.

* * *

Later that night, I'm sitting in front of my mirror while Isabelle curls my hair for my date with Jace. "So what are your plans tonight?" I ask her. "Oh not much, just going out for dinner with Simon and then probably going back to his room."

"Oh?" I raise my eyebrows at her. "It's not like that!" She scolds me. "Or maybe it is. I don't know. I want to, obviously," she corrects herself as she curls the last part of her hair.

I get up, studying myself in the mirror. I'm wearing a white summer dress paired with gold sandals. "You look beautiful," Izzy tells me. "So do you," I reply while giving her a hug.

Jace said he'd come pick me up, so I sit down on the bed and wait. Izzy uses the opportunity to pester me. "Do you think you and Jace would ever, you know, sleep together?" I sigh as my cheeks heat up and think for a moment before answering. "I'm not sure. He said once that we couldn't while he was still my teacher but look where we are. We've taken it too far already, so I don't know if we're sticking to that."

"Exciting," Izzy screeches as a knock sounds at the door. I shush her before opening the door. Jace is standing there, wearing a white shirt and denim shorts, looking as handsome as ever. "You look stunning," he tells me before offering me his arm. I take it and off we go.

* * *

 **It's really difficult returning to this and not remembering my plans for the direction of the story. Possible scenes and ideas used to float through my mind all the time and now I don't remember anything.**

 **This is such a short chapter and it's really not good but it's been so long so I guess if any of you are still reading, let me know whether you want me to continue.**


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